I started burning Pine this season, mainly Eastern White Pine. I know Red Pine is higher in BTU’s and a “better” Pine for burning. I’m hoping to score some this year. It’s not as common as Eastern White, but it’s definitely around. I’m looking to see what others have noted as real world differences between the two. Burn qualities, processing, drying time, coaling, etc.
I’ve been on the lookout for some Red too. Mostly White around here, Hemlock and plenty of Spruce. I’ve seen the Reds in a couple parks around town and deep in the woods but nothing on the ground yet. Nice looking trees, almost look like they belong out west.
Around here I've got a ton of Austrian Pine & hate the stuff. Doesn't dry well & rots in about 10 minutes if it's on the ground or even standing dead. I'll take EWP over that stuff any day. I really don't mind Spruce either other than the pitch.
We've got Pinon 24.7btu and Ponderosa 14.8btu in my area. I would burn them if they didn't cause chimney fires and cause global warming.....
Austrian pine really sucks, I tried cutting some once. I'm fortunate enough to have access to lodgepole pine which is king of the chimney fire starting pine world.
EWP definitely has more sap in my experience. Red also seems to split better by hand. I burned alot of spruce earlier this year and its great aside from splitting.
Iv burned alot of pine indoors both red and white. They both dry quick but i think red burns longer and might not turn to ash as quick as white. I would take red over white. I also cut all the knobs off red cuz their is way more fatwood in red than white
I’ve burned both red and white pine as those are the majority of trees on my property. Red seems to burn longer and takes longer to season. White seems to season fast and burn as fast as I can load it. Both are great for getting fires going or just to take the chill off. I had a balsam fir and white spruce come down in a windstorm in late 2019 but didn’t get around to splitting them until March of 2020, so the verdict is still out on those. That’s fall of 2021 wood. I have a couple more red pines that are dead/nearly dead that have to come down this spring. Too close to the house for my felling skills so I’ll have them dropped. While I wouldn’t go out of my way to haul it home, I can’t say no when they’re dropped 100’ from the stacks and splitting area.
I know this is an old thread, but I have been burning quite a bit of Austrian pine this winter and I like it. Tree service dropped off a couple of cords of logs about 2-1/2 years ago. Really didn’t want that much pine, but always like to have a little in the stacks for burning down coals. Burned a few pieces last winter and it definitely wasn’t dry after a year and a half. Was bubbling sap out of the ends of the splits. Dry this year and no complaints. Also seems to burn longer than the other species of pine I have burned in the past. Still have a bit over a cord and a half in the stacks and will definitely give the tree service the green light to drop off some more this spring and summer. Pretty mild winter here so far this year and this Austrian pine has worked well for the moderate temperatures.
I don’t know that I’ve burned any pine other than white pine. I’d like to get my hands on some pitch pine as that stuff has a ton of resin. We went trough the winter a couple years ago burning only pine. Had to reload a bunch more but it worked out just fine.
I would take short leaf, loblolly and Va Pine over white. It’s common for short leaf to have 50-60’ of straight knot free trunk. Wish I had some pine logs in my yard rn.
Me neither. And I still have a Holzhausen full of white pine from February 2021, so I guess it’s not high priority to get more pine of any variety
We almost always burn the pine first. I generally dry it for 18-24 months. So always room for more and routinely run out. I also try to push the shorts and uglies through the stove. My good hickory and oak has now been drying for 6-7 years and is sitting at 11-13%. I may never burn that stuff!!
99.9% eastern white pine here. I know of three pitch pines on my lot . Two of them came up where the land was stripped as pioneer trees and one has been out near my mailbox since I was a little kid, pretty much the same size. Less than ideal growqing conditions apparently.
A few things about pine firewood, especially in the Midwest or East, little competition for it. Most of my pine is right here or on the neighbors property, very free for the taking. I have a nice amount of the good firewood, but don’t turn my nose up at pine when it’s right at my feet. Mine was mostly Red, now more White Pine.
Same here. I only really see Eastern White Pine up for grabs, but it’s always free and available! I’ve seen a few Red Pines, but they are usually standing on state owned land near bodies of water!
White pins does have a lot of sap, and tends to have sap pockets. I found a sap pocket one time while running the splitter and it made a huge mess. About a quart of sap all over the beam, wedge, pusher, etc… It took two full years to wear it all off. I haven’t split pine since. Probably should. Red pine is heavy stuff. Especially when wet. Wow.
